The current financial crisis across the higher education sector has meant that sport departments are facing budget cuts to their sport and physical activity provisions. Against this financial back drop, BUCS have been working with member institutions on how they can illustrate the value of higher education sport in terms of key institutional strategic drivers.
BUCS are pleased to release a guidance document to help support members demonstrate the value of higher education sport. The purpose of this guidance document is to support the membership in advocating for the value of higher education sport within their institutions. We’ve highlighted within the document approaches that institutions have used to demonstrate the value across the following institutional strategic drivers:
- Student Recruitment
- Student Wellbeing
- Student Attrition
- Student Retention
- Student Attainment
- Graduate Outcomes
- Direct Financial Value
Within the report, linked to the above drivers, we have included existing available research, metrics that are being used within the sector to measure the impact of sport, as well as considerations when measuring these areas. Also documented are case studies from the sector from institutions giving more detail on what is happening in this area at their specific institution. We have also included examples from the wider sporting eco-system where the value of sport has been measured.
This report has been created with significant input from a range of members, through working groups meetings, workshops and consultations, and we would like thank them for their participation in the work to this point.
This document will constantly evolve; the BUCS insight team will update it when new information is available or when new institution case studies are available. If you have any information on work that you are carrying out in the area, please get in contact with Liz Prinz ([email protected]) and Cameron Masters ([email protected]).
Alongside the release of this document, we will be hosting a series of webinars where members will share in more detail about the work they are doing to demonstrate the value of higher education sport. These webinars will explore what they are trying to achieve, the challenges they have faced internally, and the impact the work has had in promoting the value of sport internally. These webinars will run from January 2025 onwards.
The first of these webinars will be presented by Mark Heazle, Head of Sport and Physical Activity at University of East Anglia on Tuesday 14 January 2-3pm. To sign up to the webinar, please click on this link.
